Program run by Accenture and leading banks to foster technology innovation in financial services and attract entrepreneurs to London opens for a second year

LONDON, Aug. 5, 2013 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and leading banks have opened the application period for the second year of the FinTech Innovation Lab London. Designed to help accelerate the development of cutting-edge technology for commercial application in the financial services industry, the FinTech Innovation Lab London is a 12-week program that helps early and growth stage financial technology innovators accelerate product development and gain exposure to leading financial industry executives. Applicants can enter at www.fintechinnovationlablondon.co.uk from now until September 8, 2013.

Richard Lumb, Group Chief Executive-Financial Services at Accenture, said: “After the outstanding applications we had last year, we look forward to finding another group of ground breaking entrepreneurs for the 2013 program. London’s future as a financial center depends on innovation and this Lab can make a real contribution to promoting economic development and technology growth in the capital.”

Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Enterprise, said: “London is now the leading digital city in Europe home to a dynamic community of tech giants, entrepreneurs and new start-ups. The Mayor and I are committed to creating the right conditions for this sector to flourish further still. The FinTech Innovation Lab marries finance and technological innovation and we are delighted to see it entering its second year.”

The FinTech Innovation Lab London
The Lab is looking for cutting-edge technologies for the financial services sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and internationally – particularly in the areas of mobile, payments, Big Data and analytics, security, and social media.

Chief technology officers and senior technology executives from the financial institutions will select six entrepreneurs to participate in the Lab through a competitive process. To be accepted, applicants must have at least a beta version of their technology available, and demonstrate that access to senior-level executives at financial services firms would have a meaningful impact on the company’s growth prospects. Lab participants from outside London are required to relocate to the city during the program and are provided workspace

The Lab consists of a twelve-week program, in which participants are partnered with senior-level bank executives and successful technology entrepreneurs who will help them fine-tune and develop their technologies and business strategies through a series of workshops, panel discussions, user-group sessions, networking opportunities, one-on-one meetings and presentations

It culminates with an Investor Day presentation by all six participants in front of an audience of venture capitalists and financial industry executives in March 2014

Barclays Chief Operations and Technology Officer Shaygan Kheradpir, said: "The increasing role of technology in financial services is accelerating the pace and breadth of innovation and driving the kind of cutting-edge services which our customers and clients demand. The entrepreneurial approach that the FinTech Innovation Lab London delivers is exactly the kind of capability that this industry needs and we are delighted to be supporting it."

Mohit Sarvaiya, head of Technology Infrastructure for Europe and emerging markets (ex-Asia) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, “Technology innovation is key to driving transformation within the financial services industry. We are looking forward to another exciting year of engagement with vibrant entrepreneur-led companies at this year’s FinTech Innovation Lab London.”

“We are very pleased that Credit Suisse will be continuing its involvement with the FinTech initiative again in 2014. FinTech is an excellent platform for technology startups who are looking to target their products at the Financial Services sector, we were very impressed with the class of 2013 and look forward to partnering with the startup community this year and working together to produce technology for tomorrow’s financial services industry,” said Raymond Mulligan, Global Head Fixed Income Technology, and Jason Shane, EMEA Head of Equities & Prime Services Technology, at Credit Suisse.

“It was a really impressive first year for the FinTech Innovation Lab London, where we saw some very mature products,” said Mike Grimaldi, Head of EMEA Technology at Goldman Sachs. “This initiative has proved it can have a real impact in helping London establish a hub to focus on innovative technology for financial services, and we look forward to working with, and mentoring, more startup companies in the coming year.”

"Last year’s program introduced HSBC to a diverse, innovative group of companies that we were able to work with, support and mentor,” Paul Tierney, Global Head of Strategy for HSBC Technology and Services. “Programs like FinTech are essential for a healthy, thriving and developing financial services market, HSBC is committed to continue supporting FinTech."

“For the second year in a row, J.P. Morgan is proud to support the FinTech program,” said Mark Kimber, Chief Information Officer for J.P. Morgan in the EMEA region. “The caliber of companies we engaged with in the inaugural year’s program was first class. As London continues to evolve as a technology hub – with emerging companies able to deliver to global scale corporations – programs like FinTech are essential to nurture and encourage that ecosystem. We look forward to a great second schedule."

"By bringing entrepreneurs together with senior technology decision makers from major banks in an open discussion about new ideas and opportunities, the FinTech Innovation Lab is helping to support one of London’s key technology clusters,” said Stephen Mavin, Managing Director and European CIO, Morgan Stanley.

Last year’s participants in the FinTech Innovation Lab London included Digital Shadows, a cyber-security firm that helps identify and monitor companies’ “digital footprints,” and Waratek, whose technology is designed to help companies reduce IT infrastructure costs by using Java to move to the cloud. Another Lab participant, The Open Bank Project, an open source application programming-interface, management platform and app store for the banking industry was recently accepted to the Open Data Institute’s startup program. The ODI was founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt in 2012 to catalyze an open data culture and deliver economic, environmental and social benefits.

The other innovators that participated in the London Lab’s inaugural year included BehavioSec, Calltrunk, Growth Intelligence, and Kiboo. The Lab is modeled on a similar program in New York, which has helped 18 other financial technology entrepreneurs since it was formed in 2010.

The FinTech Innovation Lab London is designed to support technology job creation and economic growth in London by attracting technology startups to operate in direct proximity to one of the world’s largest financial centers. Since 2008, annual venture capital and private equity investment in the financial technology (“fintech”) sector has nearly tripled, according to CB Insights, and more than $9 billion has been invested in the sector over the past five years.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 266,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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